Arsenal: Ivan Gazidis has actually emerged as the unlikely hero

Arsenal used to have a Mt. Rushmore of shame when pointing the blame at the club’s failings, but Ivan Gazidis has actually removed himself from this.

Arsenal fans, in their numerous protests, always had three names at the top of their hit-list: Stan Kroenke, Ivan Gazidis and Arsene Wenger. They would also throw the board onto that list, but as they had numerous names, it was usually just these three that got the blame.

Kroenke is obvious. He’s silent, stingy and American. His sports teams in America have next to no success, he said he isn’t in it for the trophies, so what else is there? He’s a billionaire businessman with little care for the club itself.

Wenger is obvious. He is the face of the club and has been for the past two decades. Every decision goes through him, so every bit of blame when something goes wrong is pinned on him.

Ivan Gazidis is the club CEO, which seemed to be a bit of a neutered role, seeing as how Wenger ran everything. Gazidis always said nice things, but never did anything, and was scolded for not doing more with his prestigious-sounding post.

More from Pain in the Arsenal

Through it all, it looks like Gazidis may actually be the one that has pushed out of the crowd and established himself as the conduit of change, rather than serving as the relic of past problems. In the acquisition of Raul Sanllehi and Sven Mislintat, Gazidis was touted as a major factor. Mislintat and Gazidis were supposedly two of the transfer party that secured the biggest Arsenal transfer of the modern era – Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

It used to be that when Gazidis would say that they needed ‘change,’ I would sit back and shake my head. Words mean nothing. But Gazidis is actually enacting this change now, adding some walk to his talk.

So, when he came out recently with his latest statements about the club not being good enough and about how they need to be pushing for more, I tuned in. Because clearly this man has been handed more power and more authority in the club and he is making the most of it, revolutionizing how the club is run (or rather, by whom) as well as what the self-imposed limitations are.

I never thought any one of the “three-headed monster” would break free of the negativity, but you won’t find Gazidis criticized like Wenger and Kroenke anymore. Make of that what you will.

Next: 5 Things Learned Against Watford

I, for one, am excited to see what Gazidis does next, because he has done so much already.

Home/Arsenal News